UKFT was pleased to work with and promote over 140 UK brands at Paris men’s and women’s pre-collections week between 17-  22 January 2024. This event is now a well established part of the calendar and attracts buyers from around the world.

Not one event but a great many, UKFT pulled together a group of over 140 brands at five major tradeshows (Tranoï Homme, Man Paris, Welcome Edition, Who’s Next and the Salon de la Lingerie) and over 30 multibrand showrooms including The Alphabet, Awaykin, Emma Jones Consultancy, Polly King and Rainbowwave. UKFT was also able to visit a number of UKFT members at Maison et Object which took place at the same time in Villepinte.

Renowned globally for being a key marketplace for high end fashion, Paris Fashion week encompasses a selection of events for menswear, womenswear, lingerie  and jewellery. UKFT was able to signpost an exciting mix of UK brands on its Discover British Brands in Paris map, found here. UKFT’s work in Paris is supported by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) as part of UKFT’s Global Brands campaign.

The menswear offering at Welcome Edition has grown to the extent that it is now less of a showroom and more of a show. Over 100 brands took part with a heavy British presence including Gloverall, Grenson, Kestin, Invertère, Lavenham, Peregrine, Uskees and Yogi. Returning to the show was also Henri Lloyd. Approximately half the brands were following the show organisers to New York for Welcome Edition NYC. The show was busy on all three days. Across town, Man Paris also got off to a very good start withy UK brands reporting that they had seen their key buyers from the EU, Japan and the US.

The Alphabet and Awaykin also had strong UK representation with brands reporting good take up for appointments. The Alphabet had nine UK brands across two venues including Denzil Patrick, Yuhan Wang and Saul Nash. Awaykin expanded in a new location on rue Réaumur with 10 UK brands. Rainbowwave had a freshly curated take on the season with a concentration on pre-collection brands at more affordable prices but showing with Rainbowwave for the first time was Begg x Co, which were delighted to be in Paris and reported a good crop of meetings with new and existing clients.

Across town, Who’s Next, Impact, Bijhorca and the Salon International de la Lingerie at Paris Expo at the Porte de Versailles got off to a good start. The Salon de la Lingerie was especially positive with brands such as Fleur of England, Posie Lingerie and Dora Larsen reporting good business with their buyers and some companies were consistently busy. Who’s Next also looked strong, especially in hall 6 (Fame) although the sustainable halls felt a little less busy. The accessories halls were generally well attended although Bijorhca appears to be moving towards cash-and-carry rather than forward order – not an option for British companies post-Brexit!

Louis McCullough of Pongees said of the Interfiliere show: “Exhibitions have definitely been busier this season than they were in 2023 and with quality visitors. We had meetings with a great cross section of buyers – from European and US based global brands to African manufacturers selling into the Middle East. It was all very encouraging. As costs remains a concern, it was important for us to promote our delivery service to the EU; customers with a VAT/EORI number can receive their orders fast and free of additional import charges, as pre-Brexit.”

Overall the feeling was that Paris is very much in the ascendent, both in the trade shows and in the showrooms. Whilst it would be inaccurate to say that the city was fill of buyers, there was the impression that buyers were visiting although they were reported as buying “very cautiously”.

The showrooms all reported good levels of appointments, always a good sign, and there were interesting reports of good numbers of buyers from Asia, especially China and Korea, as well as Japan. One of the UK-based showrooms reported that they had met their targets before they had set off for Paris whilst most others reported that they had seen good buyers from most of the major markets and Ardun agency was visibly very busy on the days of UKFT’s visit.

Although not formally part of UKFT’s group, UKFT was also able to visit Maison et Objet at Villpinte. The show was extremely busy and UKFT was impressed at the size and investment of many of the stands there. There was a sizeable UK presence of 88 brands although only 20 or so were from fashion and accessories. UK companies at the show, especially in the accessories and homewares sections, reported good business and that buyers were in a good mood.

Most UK companies now appear to have understood the importance of selling to the EU market on landed EU cleared terms and those that have made the right investments and decisions in this area are reaping the benefits. One UK brand told UKFT: “We had to open our EU logistics to survive as our production is in the EU and our customers are mostly outside the UK. The advantage is that we can now send our goods anywhere around the world at the best duty rates but we are having to pay tax in the EU rather than in the UK which we would rather not have had to do.”  Others were concerned that their EU competitors are selling again to Russia even in spite of the EU and UK sanctions. There were a number of Russian buyers at the shows and showrooms all keen to engage with UK brands but most of them are still refusing to sell to Russia. UKFT has raised the issue with the UK government.

Paul Alger MBE, Director of International Business at UKFT, said:

“This January edition of Paris Menswear, Pre-collections and the main commercial shows has got off to a cautiously optimistic start. The buyers have come and they have looked at the collections and discussed orders which we all hope will be confirmed in the month or so ahead. The Paris January shows and showrooms are expanding and gaining in importance. Particular standouts for me this season were Welcome Edition and Man as well as the Salon de la Lingerie, Ardun Agency and the new Alphabet and Awaykin showrooms.”

For information on the UK group at Paris Fashion Week and to download the Discover British Brands in Paris map, visit ukft.org/ukftglobalbrands and @UKFTorg